Patrinely Group LLC of Houston, which held tight to a minority interest, invested $3.3 million into Anchor Centre's repositioning before it put the majority stake on the market. "A lot of Patrinely's money went into the East Building of the two-building complex," Rick Egitto, senior managing director of Littleton, CO-based Crimson Services LLC, tells GlobeSt.com. "Alliance plans to renovate the West Building to bring it up to that of the East Building. They'll renovate the lobbies and do other capital improvements." Though the cost is still being calculated, local sources believe it could take another $2 million to $4 million to finish upgrading the 1980s-era complex at 2201 and 2231 E. Camelback Rd.

Meanwhile, Alliance hired Cushman & Wakefield of Arizona Inc. to replace CB Richard Ellis Inc. to lease the property. The class A office buildings were 70% occupied at sale time.

Egitto says Patrinely did an un-priced offering for Anchor Centre's majority interest. "We'd taken it out on the market for a couple rounds of bids and got significant interest in the asset," he says. "Alliance decided they liked the asset better than the other investors pursuing it and came in with a good price."

Egitto says he's had an ongoing relationship with Alliance for several years, which helped net the sale for the first-time Arizona buyer who's looking for more properties to buy in the metro. "I knew they could perform. When it came right down to it, I knew they could be the most creative group and continue with what Patrinely had started."

Egitto says Anchor Centre is an appealing property to start Alliance's Arizona portfolio due to a nearby under-construction, condo development, the Residences at 2211 Camelback. "That is pulling the kind of live-work environment down from the Esplanade at 24th and Camelback to here," he explains. "That added sizzle to [Anchor Centre] was a big reason why Alliance bought the project."